Street-car screen-guard



Patented Mar.-

E; W'. SEL-KIRK. STREET' GAB. SCREEN. GUARD.

(No Model.)

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EDWARD SELKIRILOF` CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STREET-'CAR seREEN-uARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part-of Letters Patent No. 536,300, dated March 26, 1895.

Application iiledMay 31, 1894.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. SELKIRK, a

n citizen of the United States, residi-ng at Chi# cago, in the county'of Cook and Stateot' Illinois, haveinvented certain new and Yuseful Improvements in Street-Car Screen-Guards; and I do declare the following -to be a' full, clear, and exact description otthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. v f

My invention relates to attachments forthe screen guards used upon-the sides of street cars and other vehicles, particularly upon street cars running upon double track rail.v ways where it is necessary that the guard bey shifted from one side of the car to the other at the termini of the road. Y

The object of the inventionv is to provide a means of attachment for such guards which while being easily adjusted vis -perfectly -secure against accidental detachment.

The invention consists of theuse of bolts attached to the lower side ot' the frame of the screen, and adapted to enter sockets in the side of the car, and of clips or jaws for engaging cleats mounted upon the side pillars of the car; of a locking device; and of other parts and arrangement of inafter described. l

In the accompanying drawings Figure l represents a side elevation of a portion of the parts as are herecar, the screen being secured by my improved attachment. Fig. 2 isa side elevation of one of the pillars of the car and showing the end of the screen. Fig. 3 is a plan section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the cleats. vation of one of the pillars showing the cleats. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the socket iron. Fig. 8 is a sectional View on the line 8- 8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a plan View of the locking latch.

The screen guards'to which my invention is applied are oblong rectangularin form and are used upon what are known as open or summer cars and are adjusted thereto in such man- Fig. 6 is a front elcserial No. 512.983. (No man.)

stepping from the car onto the other track of the railway. Such cars are shifted from one track-to the other at each terminus of the road bymeans of a switch, and without being turned; and hence'the side of the car which is toward the side of the street when running in one directionvis toward the center of the street when running in the opposite direction 6o audit becomes necessary to change the guard from side to side of the car when the direction is reversed.` This change must be made by one man and very quickly so that it is important that the attachment must be very simple. Furthermore it is important that the attachment be perfectly secure for it is obvious that if the forward end of the screen should become detached and drop to the ground while the car is in motion, disastrous 7o results might 'follow. 1t is also important -that the fixtures used upon the car for attaching these screens should be of such character that they will not detract from the beauty and finish of the car and especially that they will not endanger the person or clothing of the passengers as is the case when hooks are used. L

The screen guard A is of woven wire bound with a rigid metal frame and is oblong rect- 8o angular in form and usually of considerable length so as to extend over the ends of several seats. These screens are attached to the side pillars B and to the seat ends or panels o. Aclip having a pair of rigid jaws C is attached to the upper rail a, of the screen frame, the opening between the jaws being vertical so that they will embrace and slide upon the j pillar B. Metal cleats c, having vertical lateral anges are attached to the sides of the 9o pillar B near their outer edges for the engagement of the jaws of the clip C. The lateral flanges do not reach to the top of the cleats so that in adjusting the screen the jaws of the clip C, are slid upon the upper ends of the cleats and the screen is then allowed to drop.

The bolt D, is rigidly secu red to the lower side a. of the screen A and projects downwardly. The socket iron E is secured to the lseat end b in such a position that the bolt D, roo will drop into its socketfwhen the screen is lowered for the engagement of the jaws of the clip C upon the flanges of the cleats c The engagement of the bolt D with its socket supports the screen and prevents its lower side from having lateral movement, and the clip C holds the screen securely to the pillars.

Forconvenienceot adjustment flaringwings e, e extend upwardly from the mouth of the socket of the casting E so as to guide the bolt into the socket. This construction is the more important because the attaching devices are placed upon each seat and'pillar, and each screen usually covers four seats.

To prevent the screen from accidental detachmentby being thrown upwardly, I place upon one of the cleats on each of the pillars B a swinging latch or dog F, whose outer end is normally directly above the jaw of the clip C thereby preventing any vertical movement. This dog may be adapted to find its place above the jaw automatically by means of gravity or in other well known way, and to prevent it from being jarred out of place its outer end is beveled backwardly and the upper surface of the jaw is correspondingly inclined so that the vertical play of the screen has a constant tendency to throw the dog forward. v

I prefer to so mount the dog F that it will not freely swing so that when pushed back Y preliminary to detaching the screen it will remain in that position until force is applied to push it forward. As the joint is apt to become loose with wear I form the dog with a longitudinal rib f so that if it is in this forward position when the operator seeks to attach the screen the n-turned end of the jaws of the clip C will bear against this rib f and push `the dog back out of the way.

I claim- 1. The combination with the pillar B, and seat end b, ot' the screen A, the socket iron D the bolt E projecting downwardly and attached to the screen, cleats c attached to the sides of the pillar B and having vertical lat-v eral flanges, and clips C attached to the screen and having hooked jaws for engaging the cleat flanges, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the pillar B, and seat ends or panels b, of the screen A, means for detachably securing the lower side of the screen to the panel,clips0 attached to the upper side of the screen and having hooked jaws, and cleats c attached to the sides of the pillars and having vertical [langes for the engagement of the jaws ot the clips, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the frame of a car, of a screen A, bolt and socket attachment of the lower side of the screen to the car, cleats c attached to the uprights of the car frameand having vertical lateral flanges, clips attached to the upper side of the screen and having rigid jaws adapted to engage the flanges of the cleats, and a swinging lock latch, F mounted on one of the cleats and adapted to hang vertically above the jaws of the clip, the end of said latch being beveled backwardly, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination with the frame of a car, of a guard screen A, a clip attached to the screen and having rigid hooked jaws, cleats attached to a pillar of the car frame and having vertical lateral flanges for the engagement of the jaws, a lock latch pivoted to swing over the jaw of the clip said latch having a longitudinal rib substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD W. SELKIRK.

Witnesses:

LOUIS K. GILLsoN, SPENCER WARD. 

